BITTING.
Having now provided yourself with a suitable mount for road and park
purposes, and likewise a supply of riding apparel sufficient to answer
all purposes until you come to hunt, it will be necessary for you to
turn your attention to the interesting subjects of bitting, saddling,
and general turning out. These things ought of necessity to precede the
actual _riding_--for you certainly cannot mount your steed until he has
been saddled and bridled, and to know how to accomplish this yourself
is in the highest degree important.
In the present day, when equestrianism is not only a popular amusement
but amounts almost to a craze, it is astonishing to find the amount
of ignorance that prevails among riders upon subjects with which they
ought to be at least tolerably well acquainted, before laying claim
to the terms “horsemen” and “horsewomen.” In no department that I can
think of, or name, is this lamentable want of knowledge so clearly
displayed as in the important one of bitting. That ladies are not, as
a rule, very conversant with the subject is scarcely to be wondered
at, for most lady-riders give no thought to anything on earth save
the pleasure of the motion, and the fit of their habits and gloves.
They have undergone a certain description of superficial training,
which just enables them to know how to sit, and how to hold the reins
between their fingers, but the real pleasure of being thoroughly _en
rapport_ with their mount--knowing what bit he will go best in, and
feeling conscious that he is not enduring torture from being wrongly
bridled or saddled--are things altogether denied them. It is precisely
the same principle on which ladies execute showy pieces on the piano,
without at the same time having the smallest knowledge of the theory
of music, or any idea of why it is that pressure upon the pedals is
capable of altering the sound. It is a sorry fact, but a certain one,
that nine-tenths of the ladies who ride in the Row--pulling equally,
as they often do, upon both reins--would stare at you in helpless
amazement, or blush “celestial rosy red,” if asked to describe the
difference in action between the curb bit and the snaffle. They do not
know. Nobody has ever told them, because it has never occurred to them
to ask. They are simply aware that there are two leathers, attached
by some unknown means to the horse’s head, and that they are supposed
to hold these nicely between their fingers, and look as charming as
they can; but what the leathers are for, or why there _are_ two of
them, or yet, why some other ladies of their acquaintance ride with
a single rein while they have been given a double one, are things of
which they have not the very faintest notion. Lip-straps, cheek-pieces,
throat-lashes, ports, cannons, &c., terms with which even moderately
skilled horsewomen are familiar--have never been so much as heard of,
or even inquired about. The existence of this species of ignorance
among lady-riders is not hearsay. I speak from practical knowledge,
having proved it upon many different occasions. “Pooh, nonsense; what
do _I_ care about your old leathers!” laughed a merry-hearted Cork
girl to whom I was once striving to explain some necessary matters;
“I just hold on, and let the beast carry me--and what more on earth
do I want?” And away she went, helter-skelter, after the hounds, as
she spoke--holding on, true enough, to both reins, with a good firm
grip; and the beast _did_ carry her, to some purpose too, up to a big
drain--and finding his mouth unfairly dealt with in the taking-off,
landed her deftly into it, and ungallantly galloped away.
With men--those who ride, I mean--ignorance concerning bitting ought
never to exist, yet I have been fairly astounded at finding out how
very little many of them know about the matter. An officer, who was
considered a good man to hounds, and who owned a couple of racers to
boot, looked actually quite puzzled when it was observed to him one
day that he was riding his hunter in a very severe bit (a saw-mouth
bridoon, attached to a snaffle), and said, “By George, I don’t know. I
suppose my confounded servant put some queer thing or another on him,
for the beggar won’t go a yard!” He had actually mounted his horse and
set out for a day’s hunting without so much as casting a _glance_ at
the animal’s head. Nor was his by any means an isolated case.
Now a practical word or two about some of the bridles most generally
in use--beginning with the common, smooth-jointed snaffle, which has
ever been my favourite bit. This, when sufficiently wide and large,
forms an absolutely perfect bridle, and its action is extremely simple,
restraining the horse by pressure on the bars of the mouth when his
head is carried more or less perpendicularly, and on the corners when
the head is lifted or lowered. Owing to the centre of the mouthpiece
being jointed, there is very little pressure on the tongue, which is
one of the many points in favour of this admirable bridle.
[Illustration: COMMON SNAFFLE.]
The common snaffle must not in any wise be confounded with the
ringed-snaffle which has a noseband attached to the inner rings, kept
in place by pieces of leather stitched round them and brought under
the ends of the cheeks. It may be _made_ to act severely by drawing
one pair of reins tight and sharp, thus causing all the pressure to
concentrate upon the horse’s nose--and is then called a Newmarket
snaffle.
I append sketches of a common jointed snaffle, the easiest and
nicest bit that a thoroughly-trained horse can possibly go in,
and also a double-ringed one, such as I have just described. The
latter is frequently used by men when breaking young horses in Irish
hunting-fields, and is very useful when servants have to be entrusted
with the handling of animals, for, severe though it may be made, it
cannot spoil a horse’s mouth so easily as can any description of curb.
[Illustration: RINGED SNAFFLE.]
There is not among the whole range of bits any so mild or suitable to
a learner as the common snaffle. Captain Horace Hayes, writing to me
on the subject, says: “The more imperfect the rider, the greater the
necessity for using a snaffle bridle; but this,” he adds, “goes without
saying. Persons are at times found to express such mad ideas about
horses and bitting that to reply to them is only to encourage their
folly.”
A big smooth bridoon (with or without horns), and a solid Portmouth bit
and curb, will be found a capital hunting bridle. It has always been
a favourite with me for horses that do not want to get their tongues
over the bit, and where this objectionable habit does not exist, the
common-jointed snaffle or Pelham will be found very nice also. In
using it, however, you must see that the headstall is long enough for
the pressure to lie on the bars of the horse’s mouth. This should
always be looked to by the rider. If it has a tendency to crumple the
lips at the corners, it is wrong, and partakes of the nature of a gag.
[Illustration: JOINTED PELHAM.]
The Pelham bridle finds _many_ advocates: Major Whyte Melville liked
it, for instance,--and for showing off paces (if this alone be
desired), I approve of the _Hanoverian_ Pelham, but not particularly
for anything else. The Newmarket snaffle is a capital bit for pullers,
and the American snaffle with india-rubber mouthpiece is a pleasant
bridle, largely used in the States for trotting purposes. The Segundo,
formerly a great favourite, is a very powerful controller--while
the Melton mouth-bit is deservedly a prime favourite with many
riders. The Liverpool is greatly used for harness, and seems to have
quite superseded the old Buxton, the bottom bar of which made it
uncomfortably liable to catch on the pole-end or shaft.
[Illustration: SEGUNDO.]
[Illustration: MELTON BIT AND BRIDOON.]
I dislike seeing a gag employed, and consider it altogether
unnecessary, except for a buck-jumper, or an animal who determinately
“bores” his head in a downward position; nor am I at all in favour of
the _twisted_ snaffle, which is a very severe bit, and does not answer
any purpose, so far as I have ever been able to make out, that the
chain-snaffle cannot be made to fulfil; for if severity be required,
it can be obtained by twisting the chain before putting it into the
horse’s mouth. I hate to see it, however, and never would permit its
use in my own stables, except in the case of some animal that was
known to be of an unusually fractious, or, I might say, _evil_ temper.
Severity in bitting is, in my opinion, very rarely necessary; and
taking into account the cruelty of it, I dislike it excessively, and
always cry it down.
[Illustration: LIVERPOOL.--FOR HARNESS ONLY.]
[Illustration: CAMBRIDGE BIT.]
I saw a man in Cheshire, when the Empress of Austria was hunting
there, riding in a terrible bridle. He had a strong, wiry _rope-bit_
attached to the horns of an ordinary snaffle--and it must have been
frightfully severe, for the horse’s mouth was bleeding at both corners.
I remarked to the Kaiserin that it was no wonder she was anxious to
get away from that part of the country, if her sensitive eyes were
often thus shocked. She looked at the man--at the horse--at the man
again--and then said one word--“BRUTE!” It was certainly expressive,
and concise,--and she spoke it in right sound English too, which I
thought a very good thing.
The ordinary term “bit and bridoon” means simply a curb and a snaffle.
The latter has been already explained. The common curb is merely a
mouthpiece attached to two cheeks, and is curved in the centre, forming
what is called a “port,” while a chain is attached to the cheeks in
such a way that when the curb-reins are drawn tight, the chain presses
upon the _chin_ of the horse, and so restrains him.
There is much variety in the shape of curbs, a Chifney being the
strongest, and therefore the most capable of misuse in unpractised
hands. A really good double bridle for ordinary riding is a Dwyer
curb (which has very short cheeks), and a common smooth snaffle. The
Cambridge bit is also very generally esteemed.
For hunting purposes, I like the _snaffle_ bridle to have half horns
only, as being less likely to be drawn in a scurry through the horse’s
mouth, taking the curb along with it. I have seen this happen once or
twice, with very unpleasant results.
[Illustration: HALF-HORNED HUNTING SNAFFLE.]
To say that an animal is “hard-mouthed” is a very general expression;
but the notion that he is so constantly arises from his being
improperly bitted. Something or another is thrust into his mouth that
does not go near fitting it, and as a consequence has no more effect in
either checking or guiding him than if it were tied to his tail. When a
horse is badly bitted, and controlled at the same time by incompetent
hands, the double evil is almost too great to be endured; but when a
proper bit is applied, there is far less suffering and inconvenience on
the part of the animal, even though subjected to the hands of a very
unlearned master. Timid riders ought to know, and remember, that as a
horse is governed by his mouth--just as a ship is by her rudder--it
will be wise to devote especial attention to that quarter, in order to
avert the danger that may otherwise ensue. A skilful and experienced
hand at the bridle will always prove the best means of success, and
ensure the greatest amount of safety; but, where this does not exist,
the natural or acquired defect may in great measure be counterbalanced
by the application of a suitable bit.
Persons have positively laughed at me when I have spoken of having a
horse’s mouth measured--and yet there are three interior measurements
which ought to be carefully made before fitting an animal with a
bit: these are, the width of the mouth, taking the measurement from
the chin-groove--the exact width of the channel in which the tongue
rests--and the height of the bars of the mouth, by which I mean from
the surface of them to the _undermost_ point of the chin-groove. If
a bit with a port is to be used, the horse’s tongue ought also to be
measured.
It often happens that from improper bitting horses acquire an ugly
trick of working their tongues over the mouthpiece. I had two that did
it, but cured them by riding them for awhile with a snaffle only, and
then carefully fitting them as described with suitable bits.
Correct bitting will ensure complete control, or ought to do so,
without inflicting pain. Anything that involves suffering ought to be
discarded--although I do not wish it to be understood that I object
to such pain in bitting as will compel an unbroken horse to drop his
head to the correct position, or yield to the hands that are training
him. Remember, however, that a curb unduly tightened, or a bit that is
too severe, will often make a horse poke out his chin--and you must
not then drag at him, but rather give him ease. When an animal has a
bit forced into his mouth that he feels will not suit him, he tries
to tell his master so by all the means that lie within his power. He
exhibits restlessness when the bridle is put on: gapes, mouths, flings
his head about, and carries it (when urged into motion) either on one
side, or unduly high or low. There is by nature very little so called
“vice” in horses. Comparatively few of them are _born_ unruly, but many
are made so by improper treatment on the part of those in whose charge
they are at times unfortunately placed.
There should be one established law in bitting: never use _any_ bridle
that your horse after a trial will not face. Were this advice attended
to there would be fewer accidents, and far fewer unsightly exhibitions
of danger and discomfort than we are at present accustomed to see. A
well-placed bit will just clear the tusks in a horse’s mouth, and in
that of a mare will lie one-inch above the corner teeth. A considerate
rider will always look to these things himself before mounting; will
see, for instance, that the throat-lash is not drawn too tight, and
that the pressure of the bit lies _exactly_ on the bars of the mouth.
These bars are formed much like the _tibia_, or human shin-bone, the
minor edge being sharper and more salient than the outer, where it
rounds off. Their shape varies in different horses. In hard-mouthed
animals they are round, low, and furnished abundantly with fleshy
substance; in a tender mouth they are very lean and sharp; and in what
may be styled a good mouth, they are moderately so, without exhibiting
too great an inclination to either of the first-named conditions.
I like to see a good _wide_ mouthpiece used; it is a vast deal better
to have it too wide than too narrow, and I give you the advice in case
you do not go on the principle of measurements, which some ridicule.
Let your mouthpiece be at all events not less than five inches inside
(and even this will be found narrow for many horses), with cheeks
rather short, and set _outwardly_. If a port is used it will be much
better to have it opening laterally, from two to two and a-half inches.
The unsightly habit of lolling out the tongue arises from the pressure
to which it is, or has been, subjected, by the whimsical shapes of
many of the mouthpieces in general use, the ports of which, instead
of being fashioned according to the form of the tongue and mouth,
are so constructed that the first-named is either pinched severely
in the hollow, or pressed between the cannons of the mouthpiece and
the bars of the mouth. The horse, then, in order to relieve himself
from the torture, either hangs out his tongue, or draws it up above
the mouthpiece: an action which compels him to open his mouth in
an unsightly manner. This latter defect is likewise frequently
attributable to the extreme height of the ports of some mouthpieces;
these act, most improperly, on the palate, and when the reins are
pulled, cause such excessive agony that the sufferer gapes, in order to
ease his pain.
[Illustration: MOUTH OF TORTURED HORSE.]
It is a common error to suppose that the power of the bit lies in the
mouthpiece, according to its form, and that a high port (one that bears
upon the palate) affords control over the animal thus bitted. The real
power lies in the branches, according to their proportions, and not by
any means in the size or shape of the port, which latter ought to have
the effect of an axis gravitating on the bars of the mouth, in order
that by its influence the branches may act on these only, and not on
either the palate or the tongue.
[Illustration: ANTI-REARING BIT.]
No lady’s horse worth calling one will ever require a rearing-bit, but
such things are useful on occasions, and a gentleman told me some time
ago that he obviated an uncomfortable habit which one of his horses had
contracted, of throwing up his head, by using a round ring bit with
reins attached, in place of a snaffle. I have never tried it myself,
therefore cannot vouch for the general efficacy of the experiment;
but it may be very good. Men do not _mean_ to be cruel to horses when
bitting them improperly, but they are so nevertheless--to a terrible
degree. An animal shows signs of uneasiness, and it is at once set
down to “temper,” and punished accordingly. Temper may at times no
doubt have something to do with intractability, but so it has--very
often--with ourselves, and what better means can be adopted to calm
the irritability of man or his slave than patience, kindness, and an
entire absence of all desire to _fight_?
I do not much care for nosebands; they seem to me to interfere with
the proper action of the bridle, by preventing the headstall from
going forward, and also the cheek of the bit. The only really useful
noseband is one that is detached from the bridle-cheeks and has a
separate crown-strap. This, when worn low on the nose, is effective in
preventing a horse opening his mouth widely, and thus displacing the
bit from the bars. Martingales I simply abhor, for hunting purposes,
although I have heard some good authorities advocate the use of the
_standing_ martingale, even when crossing country. I think it is only
allowable in case of a confirmed “star-gazer,” who goes at his fences
with his head in the air, instead of looking straight before him when
he jumps. A _running_ martingale might be found useful with some horses
for park or road riding, inasmuch as it can be made effectual for
keeping the head of a flippant or unsteady goer properly in place. When
made use of for this purpose it should be adjusted in such a way as to
allow the pull of the reins to be _directly_ in line with the top of
the withers, and should be lengthened for a horse who holds his head
already sufficiently low.
I have seen Irish horsebreakers in the country improvise a martingale,
by putting the reins underneath the horse’s neck, and then passing them
through two rings, kept together by a strap. It answered pretty well
for rough riding, but I cannot recommend the innovation.
Martingales of all sorts and descriptions are, as a rule, undesirable,
except when the rings attached to the reins of them are so small that
they cannot by any possibility slip over those of the bit, and this
will necessitate the stitching of the reins--for buckles will not do.
Stops will otherwise be essential: made of leather, for safety.
I cannot help believing that bitting is generally _much_ too severely
carried out. The most cruel curbs are used by ignorant persons, whereas
there are really very few horses who cannot be done much more with by
dropping the curb rein altogether, and riding on the snaffle only.
Ladies pull and work their horses’ mouths, and then wonder that the
horses pull them in return. It is a great mistake. Hundreds of animals
are made thoroughly unruly by undue use of the curb, and so much evil
have I seen accrue from it, that I strongly recommend all young riders
to _try_ riding with the snaffle only, and to keep the curb rein
hanging loosely over the little finger, so that it may in an instant be
taken up if necessity demands, which I am confident, however, will not
very often be the case.
Some time ago I rode a mare for a friend who was very desirous of
ascertaining whether the animal was a fit one to carry a lady with
safety. I don’t believe she meant to imperil my safety in any way, in
order to secure her own. I simply offered to try the mare, and the
proposal was accepted. Terrible things had been said of the animal’s
want of training, evil temper, and so forth, and the groom who brought
her to me was evidently extremely nervous. He told me, the very first
thing, that the mare had never in her life done any saddle work,
except with “a desperately wild young gentleman,” who had _bitted
her severely_, and yet found her most difficult to manage. Therein
lay the secret, I thought to myself; but I said nothing, and the
maligned quadruped and I started on our trial, the groom most earnestly
imploring me to keep a firm hold of the curb. I found that she hung
desperately upon her bridle, kept her head between her knees with a
strong, determined, heavy pull--a dead one, in fact--upon the bit, and
went along with a rough, jerky action, which had me very soon tired
out. The Editor of the _Sporting and Dramatic News_ had volunteered
to accompany me, in order to see the trial, and when we got into the
Row and set our horses going, the brute nearly dragged my arms out in
her canter. The tug she had upon the bridle was quite terrific, and,
evidently prepared for a fight, she laid back her ears and shook her
wicked head angrily. I rode her from Palace Gate to the Corner in this
manner--not pulling one ounce against her, and yielding very slightly
to her in her stride. By the time we turned she had given up fighting,
and I was enabled for the first time to speak to my companion. I then
dropped the curb, and rode her entirely upon the snaffle. The effect
was magical; she at once lifted her head, ceased pulling altogether,
and went along in a pleasant, joyous canter--going well up to her
bridle, but not attempting any liberties whatever. In less than an
hour’s time I was riding her with one hand, petting and making much of
her with the other--an attention which, as a pleasing novelty, she
evidently much appreciated. Finding her slightly intractable during the
ride homeward, I once more lightly took up the curb. It maddened her in
a moment. She turned wildly round, twisted about with a rotatory motion
most bewildering and unpleasant, ran me against a cart, and behaved
altogether so outrageously that it required my very utmost skill,
confidence, and temper to restore her equanimity, and steer her safely
to our destination. On dismounting I observed to the groom who had come
to fetch her, that considering the amount of excitement through which
she had passed, it was wonderful that she had not sweated. His answer
was that she was always fed upon _cooked food_ (a pet theory of mine,
to which I shall devote a chapter by-and-by), and added that the horse
which he himself was riding--a remarkably fine four-year-old--derived
its chief sustenance from _boiled barley_.
I shall now close my chapter upon bitting. That it has been a horribly
dry one I cannot hope to find contradicted, but I felt that its
instructions ought to come in just where I have introduced them, and
they will be better understood, no doubt, when the pupil shall have
learned thoroughly how to ride. No lady’s education can be called
anything like complete (with regard to equine matters) until she
perfectly understands the _principles_ of bitting, and can, moreover,
saddle and bridle her own horses without the aid of a groom. I shall
give instructions concerning these matters in another chapter.